TEN YEARS!

Ten years ago.... 

(And we practically were ten- sheesh!)

 Today!

(Actually a few months ago)

Happy 10 years to us :) 

The "rise" and "tall" of Caiden

Poor Caiden has had a rough week.  It started last Saturday in the early AM hours. He came into our room saying he didn't feel good.  And about a half hour later he started throwing up....and continued to for the next 7 hrs or so, pretty much every 30 minutes.  Yuck.  So he remained in the above position for the duration of the day (and the next).  Luckily the barfing stopped, but he had zero appetite and wasn't drinking as much as I knew he needed too.

So that night he went to bed early and not once, but twice, came out (half complaining/half panicking) that "I keep raising up in the air all the way to the ceiling!"

Not gonna lie, when you're child tells you that he keeps levitating against his will...it's a little freaky.  Also didn't help that Casey and I had just finished watching Planet of the Apes and I was half-expecting a giant ape to come busting through my window.  But I gathered my wits and realized that he was most likely experiencing a good ole head rush (phew).  So I explained, reassured, and sent him back to bed.

The next few days, he felt better - (no barfing, at least) - but the poor thing was just SO tired and NO appetite.  Then last night I especially noticed his lack of energy.  After dinner, I was doing homework with Paige and he comes into the office (again half crying/half panicking) and said:

"I don't know!"
me: "Know what??"
"I don't know!"
me: "What don't you know???"
"I don't know!! ......I just....feel...so tall!"

(It's hard to show sympathy when they're so funny).  So I ordered a BIG glass of water and sent him straight to bed (it's barely 7pm).  And thankfully, this morning he woke up back to his normal height and planted firmly on the ground with the usual amount of energy.

I hope he gets back to himself soon and we don't take anymore trips to the ceiling or have anymore sudden growth spurts.....

During all of this, I thought aloud to myself that next year, we should probably all get the flu shot...

Paige (horrified) "What?!?! NO! I don't want a shot!"
me: Well, it will keep you from getting sick like Caiden is.
Paige: No way!!  I'll just throw up!

So true....

MISSION - Impossible

Caiden has sure been putting his new skis to use!  (And not just in the backyard).  Casey took him skiing at Mission (though Caiden thinks they went all the way to Michigan - we've since clarified) a few weeks ago and not only did he do great and have a great time, but he came back with a really GREAT story.  I know he'd be disappointed if this wasn't included in the family journal, ha.

First a little explaining, the chair lift they were riding is the kind where the pole is in the middle.  This makes it very hard to help a child on, thus leaving you with the only other option of relying on the lift operators to assist.  Let's just say most lift operators are not "fully operating" if you get my drift.  

So they had made it throughout the day with no incident....until the last run.  Apparently after Casey let the lift operator know that Caiden needed help getting on, the lift guy proceeds to pick Caiden up and literally drop him onto the seat as it came by.  Well, Caiden was not expecting this and when he dropped he slipped right off the chair.  Caiden manages to quickly grab onto Casey's forearm and his other arm was trying to hold on to the side bar, but his whole body was dangling.  You'd think they'd stop the lift at this point and help the poor dangling child, but no.  

So Casey is desperately trying to pull him up with his left arm as his right hand happens to be holding both his and Caiden's poles.  When he realizes they aren't stopping the lift, he chucks all 4 poles and pulls Caiden up to safety.  Caiden was a bit freaked out, but obviously recovered and now has had a great time reciting this story to anyone who'll listen.  

So then.....last Saturday, Casey and I decide to take him up night skiing and see if he can handle a little harder run.  Well, he did fabulous!  Just cruised right along.  But you guessed it, we come home with another great story.  I'm not sure why I feel this needs to be included in the family journal as it involves me...but, it is kinda funny.  

So once again, we're on a lift that has the pole in the middle, but this one is just a tad bit higher and a tad bit faster than the one he had ridden before, so we REALLY had to rely on the lift operators to help him up.  Everything is going fine (the lift guy was doing a fine job of actually getting Caiden up onto the seat....carefully).  Casey and I had been taking turns riding with him, and all was well.  

Then on the last run (this should have been Clue #1) Caiden wanted to ride up with me.  I noticed that there's a new lift operator, a younger one (this should have been Clue #2).  Well, we get up there and I say "Can you help him up please?"  And the guy is totally looking off in another direction.  I repeat the question (probably a bit more snippily, knowing me - and without the "please") and then he takes notice.  "Huh? Oh. Yeah."  

I knew instantly Caiden was nervous as he forgot to hand me his poles, like he usually does.  So he goes to hand them to me, they slip, the guy decides to return to reality and "help" him up, but by this time the chair is there.  I glance back, while still trying to contain both sets of poles, glance down at the approaching chair (which I happen to notice there is a pair of very large mittens on my seat (what the?) and I realize.....either both of us are going to get plowed....or just one of us.  

So the chair is there and the guy doesn't have him all the way on....I really don't want Caiden to have another bad experience, so I thrust my elbow pushing Caiden back onto the seat and the chair freaking TAKES.ME.OUT!!!  Knocked me out of both skiis, and I face plant it in the snow.  And when I say face plant, I truly mean FACE PLANT as I was holding 2 sets of poles.  For real.  I sincerely hope that if anyone got this on video, they let me know, because I will definitely be receiving a $10,000 check from America's Funniest Videos.  

All of this happened in a split second, but you know how 1000 thoughts can run through your head in moments like those?  I was thinking "Hello?! Help my kid!!" and "Oh crap! I'm dropping the poles" and "Oh no! The chair is here!!!" and "HELLO!!!!! HELP MY KID"  and "What the heck is that on my seat???" and "Oh please don't let Caiden get hit by the chair!" and then "OHHH NO!!" aaaannnnnnd .....FACE PLANT.  It was awesome.  I know I say Paige is Phoebe Buffet sometimes, but let's be honest - she gets all her Phoebe-ness from me.  I'm super talented :)

Oh, the things I do for my children.  Let's recap, shall we?  Willingly catch spewing barf from sweet daughter during church.  Check.  Sacrifice mind and body by letting big heavy metal chair lift plow me over. Check.  If my kids ever question how much I love them, I'll just have to refer them to this post :)

Super-BARF!

I will not likely ever forget Super Bowl 2012. Not because of the game, or who played (who did play?) or the yummy food and snacks.  No not because of those things, but because of my sweet Paige.

We started the morning off by attending Stake Conference.  The kids were excited because Grandma and Grandpa were in our building, so of course they sat with them.  Paige would occasionally come back and sit with Casey and I.  About the 3rd time, she came back and sat with us and Casey noticed she had a "weird" look on her face.  He asked if she was okay and she said she had a tummy ache.  Then precisely 5 seconds later, she threw up all over the floor.  All over.  All over herself.  All over Casey's shoes.  All over.  Seriously, it just kept coming.   And by the way, it was the most frightening shade of green you can imagine.

So I grabbed her, cupped my hands to her mouth (as it was still coming) and RAN her outta there, all the while barfing in my hands and down the sleeves of my shirt.  We make it in the bathroom, and yep, it's still coming.  So I told her to stay there, as I quickly grabbed a handful of paper towels and raced back in there to  clean it up, smelling like BARF itself as my sleeves were filled with it.  Awesome feeling by the way.   Didn't have enough, had to go back for more.  People are staring.  Probably feeling nauseous themselves.  When I came back, someone was there with a mop...thankfully.  By the way, where is my husband?? I don't know.

So needless to say, we leave.  Poor Paige was white as a ghost and slightly embarrassed.  It's a good thing mom's love their kids so much, because this is the second time she's barfed in my hands and down my sleeves.  And I'll bet probably not the last.  I know it's part of being a mom, yada, yada, yada.  But's its still gross, and definitely not my favorite part.  Luckily, she is feeling all better and no incidents followed.

So our Super Bowl day was more like a Super BARF day and needless to say our plans to hang out with friends was cancelled.  But Caiden took it upon himself to make sure we still had snacks and made a lovely sign too.  He's so great :)

 

And we're off!!

......almost :)

The stats are in....

Has it already been a year??? I swear just yesterday I was big and fat and miserably pregnant making myself a castor oil cocktail to get this guy here.  And now he's ONE?!  Wow.  I just took him in for his one year appointment and poor thing got himself 6 pokes!  4 shots and one blood draw (which turned into 2).  But here are his stats....

At one years old Preston.... 

 - weighs 20.5 lbs (25th percentile)

 - 29 inches tall (25th percentile)
 - head cirmcumference - can't remember, but in the 75th percentile :)

 - has 12 teeth (yes twelve! Paige actually beat him with 16 teeth at one years old)  

 - is almost walking!  I'm certain we'll get there in the next couple of weeks (fingers crossed!)

 - is still doing the funny one legged crawl (I like to call it The Hobble)

 - is pretty much into everything

 - has been sleeping all night for the past 7 months (duh. He's my baby.  My babies sleep...or else :) 

 - loves ALL food.  Seriously can't think of ONE thing he's ever refused.

 - has the most sensitive skin EVER

 - has the cutest smile and laugh EVER

 - can say "Mama" "Ni' Ni'" "Dada" and "Nana" (does he know what he's saying? Not as sure)

 - is really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really precious
 - oh, and one other thing that is so funny to watch is how delicate he is when he picks up things.  He uses his thumb and pointer finger and is so CAREFUL when he grabs it.  The other night we had peas with dinner and he picked up each and every pea individually without squishing one!  He's going to be a world renowned surgeon, I just know it!

I didn't exactly throw a big celebration (as in a party) for him.  BUT, I did sing "happy birthday" to him several times throughout the day.  Oh and I gave him a package of new onesies...AND a new sippy cup.  Exciting?  I think I made up for it by going ALL OUT with this most fabulous and beautiful CAR cake that I made all by myself, albeit a "clunker" and not so much Lightning McQueen which was the plan.  (And it's RED not PINK, got it??)  Either way, Caiden thinks I'm THE best cake maker ever and thinks I should go on the show Cake Boss.  Thanks bud. 

Grandma and Grandpa Gubler came over and gave him this GREAT present.  As you can see he was a happy camper!

Then it was time for cake, and I so was hoping that I'd have a baby that dives into the cake and makes a terrible mess.  Preston did a pretty good job. The thing with him is he really liked the cake so much he actually succeeded in getting most of it in his mouth with not as much left to make a mess with.  It really only took a few seconds for him to eat his entire piece.  This boy can eat!

Happy Birthday! We love you Preston (aka Booga Man, Boogie, Boogz, and Boogzie)!!

Hello?

The other day I was in the office and I heard a series of grunts and groans coming from Preston, which once translated, I know to mean "I could use a little help here!"  So I walked in the playroom and found this sweet little face peering up at me.

Apparently Caiden and Paige used the play kitchen to "corner" him in so he would stop getting into their stuff. They were at least kind enough to give him some toys back there.  But then they just left, and poor Preston was trying to figure out where the heck everyone went.  Just had to get a picture :)

As I've mentioned before, I'm doing quite a bit of "updating" in our house.  I had taken the door off to the office so I could paint it and this simple little door hinge has provided HOURS of entertainment for Preston.  He flaps it back and forth a million bajillion times and it never gets old.  Why again do I spend money on toys?

And speaking of the updating I have officially finished the family room!  I'm so excited!!  I totally plan to take a picture and post some before-and-afters.  Not that anyone out there probably cares too much but I feel it is important to my sanity to see these pictures from time-to-time so that 1.) I have motivation to continue throughout the house and 2.) I have motivation to continue throughout the house.  Next up....the kitchen!  (Oh my, as I am typing this Preston is literally back to flapping the door hinge.)

In other news, I turned 30.  Yep.  The big fat 3-0!  I am no longer in my twenties.  BUT, I must say, my sweet family really spoiled me.  So much that I've decided to turn 30 all over again next year!  First I woke up to a dozen pink flowers (that Paige picked out) a dozen donuts (that Caiden picked out.  I only ate one - can't turn thirty AND fat in the same day) and then my sweet hubs gave me a card (which I want to mention was a Twilight singing card - loved it) full of money!  Loved that too!  Then he and I went to the Tri-Cities alone and shopped to our hearts content :)  Casey's birthday was just a couple of weeks ago too, so he had some birthday money just beggin' to be spent.  And a pair of ski boots later, it was.  Oh and we went to P.F. Chang's and ate to our hearts content.  And we had so much leftover that we ate it again the next day and wouldn't share with the kids.  That's what OLD grumpy farts do right?


Now, before you see the next picture, let me explain.  I'm a good mom.  Really I am.  My kids are LOVED.  But.....accidents happen I tell ya!  (This was a while ago before Preston was even crawling, but I finally just got it transferred from my phone).  Now, because I love my child and he loves me ALOT and screams when we're not in the same room together, I tend to take him everywhere I go throughout the house...even when I'm cleaning.  He happens to really enjoy watching me do laundry.  So I was putting a load in the washer and he was sitting on top of the dryer watching me put the clothes in (like he's done a million times).  And I'm right there so he can't fall off.  I'm right there! Practically touching him! Well, I turned for just one second - ONE SECOND - to grab some clothes that fell on the floor.....and I swear the next thing I know I'm holding him by his ankle as he had FALLEN INTO THE WASHER!!  Now, I have a top loader (obviously) with the giant thing in the middle and so I'm trying to pull him out but he's freaking out, flailing limbs and all (except for the one ankle I had hold of), and I don't know if you've noticed, but he's got himself a nice-sized melon of head and I was seriously strugglin' to pull it out!  But finally I did.....and he wasn't happy.  I was almost in tears myself and spent the next several hours apologizing to him.  Unbelievable.  Who has memories of literally pulling their kids out of a washer?  Probably just me.  I still don't know how it happened. He would always just sit and watch the water run while I filled it with clothes.  And just to clarify, it hadn't filled up yet.  I guess he just wanted a closer look, and boy did he get one!  At least it was a soft landing on the clothes, just not as soft being pulled out.  Dang big head of his!

I'm so sorry baby.  I love you. 

A lot to be GRATEFUL for.....

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  We made sure to honor some of our favorite traditions....

Gingerbread houses, the reading of The Night Before Christmas (done by Caiden this year, who did a great job :) and of course we open one present, which is always Christmas jammies which the kids always wish is a toy.  Never gonna happen kids!

Preston was completely content with wrapping paper, boxes, a loose orange that fell out of someone's stocking and a plastic candy cane.  I totally took advantage of this easy-pleasing baby and bought him....nothing.  What more did he need????  But Grandma was nice and got him a walker....which I think it's safe to say he likes it.  

As for Paige, she fell in love with this doll.  It came with an armoire with several outfits and may I just say it is the most organized "dresser" in this house.  After we opened presents and were getting ready for Church, she was laying in my bed with her doll and Caiden was reading a book, and I heard Paige whisper "I just love you" (to her doll, not her brother).  It made me smile.  And chuckle a little too :)

And Mr. Caiden got himself a new pair of skis and boots.  Shhhh...nobody tell him they're actually used and not new at all.  Hey, come on.  Gotta save a buck somewhere.  He is SO SO excited to go skiing with his dad.  And no, he did not get a new phone.  He's eight, who does he need to talk to? Casey got a new phone for his birthday and gave Caiden his old one (except without the phone part).  It is solely for games and guess what?  I already want to throw it out the window after having smashed it into a thousand pieces with a hammer.  It's no secret I'm not a fan of video games, but alas, they have them.  However, they are strictly regulated by ME and it is my new favorite thing to take away when they are misbehaving.  In that sense, it works wonders :)

Speaking of skiing, the kids were so excited, they convinced Casey to run around the backyard pulling them on skis.  They had a blast.  Caiden even built a "jump" and was pushing Paige over it....who loved it :)

Sitting through church on Christmas Day, I couldn't help but feel how blessed my family is.  In every aspect of life.  I couldn't help but think of those out there who were NOT having a "special" Christmas Day with their families and maybe all alone and maybe this was, in fact, one of the worst days of their life.  Next year, I am determined to make a new tradition of having the kids buy or donate gifts or time or something to others.  I think it's an important experience they need in their life.  Yep. That's it. I'm gonna do it.  It's officially in writing!  A couple years ago when I was Primary Pres., we decided as a presidency to put together a box of items a family needed for Christmas and we left it on their doorstep.  We got in our dark clothes and I was the "get-away" driver and we snuck up to their doorstep and rang the doorbell...and RAN for our lives!  I was parked in a place where we could see them open the door and wonder who on earth left a box full of goodies on their doorstep.  It was seriously so fun!  Anyway....those are just my random thoughts this Christmas season.  Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas too!

Let's try this again....

This is going to be mine in a couple of months.  Yes, that's right.  I am going to be the winner of HGTV's Dream House this year. I'm just documenting now because I am a believer in exercising POSITIVE THINKING. You will see :)

Now, I know I said that last year, but in my defense I was big and fat and pregnant and not as on top of things when it came to daily entering and plus, it was in Vermont.  I mean, really, what business do I have in Vermont?  None.   But this year, it's in Utah.  What business do I have in Utah? ALOT!!!!!!!!!!!!  So, you see, it's all about timing.  Now is the time :)  Wish me luck! Wahoo!!  Yay me!!! Positive thinking everyone!